• by Sandy Anderson •
“Nature, the mother of life forms, in her infinite variety is the supreme teacher. Study her, for she springs forth from the imagination of our Creator. More time should be spent deeply studying, observing and meditating on nature. The mother of all life forms exists in the forests and the valleys, the mountains and streams, in wind and sea. Be alone in nature. Meditate there, with all her life forms, and listen.” – Norman Paulsen, Sunburst Founder
Being the kind of a nature spirit that I am, I have definitely taken Norm’s words to heart. One of the many ways that I’m fascinated by nature, is observing the bees. My husband Steve and I are beekeepers, and we do study our bees. Steve first showed me how to do that, it was fascinating.
One day, I saw him get down on his knees in front of one of the hives. He was gazing into the entrance of the hive. Most people wouldn’t really want to do that because they’d be afraid to get stung. But Steve is studious, loving and trusting of our bees. And they are very tolerant of us, so we don’t get stung when we do that.
By looking in, we can actually see how many bees are in the hive, and how many frames are full of bees. The bees will hang down to the very bottom of the frame, if it’s full. And you can see if there’s a lot of honey in there; the honeycomb will be dripping. Keeping bees is a wonderful adventure and many people say it’s a lifetime study to learn everything about bees.
I feel the same with God-consciousness; it’s the essence of our study in this lifetime. Though there’s many fascinating things in nature, the greatest mystery behind all of nature is Divine Spirit, the Creator. That’s who and what we really are longing for; that’s the mystery that we really want to unfold on a deeper level in our lives.
Norm also says:
“Divine Spirit wants to be the caretaker of the Earth through the hands, feet, hearts and minds of men and women—to feel the good Earth beneath many feet, breathe the clear fresh air, swim in the pure waters, and run in the forests. It desires to feel and look upon the brilliance of the sun, and find divine love within one another, realizing all the time that it created all this superb beauty!”
• by Paul Custer • First, I want to take a closer look at the concept of virtue. Existing within each one of us is the radiant light of God, known as our pure Self. It’s already there. It’s not outside you, it’s inside of you. And that radiant sphere of light that’s in you contains all of the virtues, each spinning perfectly, producing a vortex of pure radiant light.
Consciousness of any virtue is the understanding of how it works, what it does, how it manifests, how to bring it through your being, how to share it with others. But the feeling of that virtue is love. Its fruits are freedom and joy.
Love is the weave that binds all of the virtues together, allowing them to work in conjunction with each other, to support each other, to amplify each other. And love gives us understanding, if we’re applying that virtue to the best of our ability. It’s one thing to understand the concept or the consciousness of a virtue, but as you’re applying it, you can literally feel what it’s doing. You can feel the effect it has on others. You can feel the effect from others as they express virtue towards you. If you approach this by realizing that virtue already exists in you, in its purest form, then you are simply allowing it to shine forth.
As with every virtue, when you’re practicing and using Honesty for example, your intent is as important as what you say—the thought process and the consciousness behind what you express. Virtue itself is a form of life force, a true force of nature, the force to create. When you express virtue, you create a beautiful, enduring world. It has the ability to last through eternity.
The integration of honesty/truthfulness into your life has three unique parts. First is the thought process or intent behind it, the consciousness that you’re using to energize that force. Next is your ability to express it in words, in spoken concept, to deliver it as a beautiful message to others. Even the simplest thing can carry the signature of that pure life force.
The final integration is when you align your intent with your words and allow them to manifest as actions. Your actions are the final piece that demonstrates to the Universe, not just to other individuals but to the Universe, that you are aligned with the virtue that’s coming out of your core, from your pure Self. Your intent, your word, and your deed are integrated, allowing the full force of your life connection to that virtue to flow through you.
The inevitable result is that you bond with the Universe. You create a perfect golden strand of light connecting you to the entire Universe, and that is truly powerful in every sense. It allows you then to exist in that joyous state of heaven on earth, one that you are creating and choose to exist within. Remember, that if you don’t apply all this, you’re choosing to exist somewhere else. This exemplifies one of the great gifts that our Creator has given each one of us—the ability to choose.
When you’re making choices, remember that at every moment that pure vortex exists within you. It is your life force. It is your life essence, and all you need to do is let it be expressed.
As you begin to express virtue in your life, in your exchanges with the other wonderful souls that you come in contact with, you can hold forgiveness in one hand and gratitude in the other, and it will help you guide your path. Through forgiveness you remove all prior judgment from those who you meet and speak with. You remove prior judgment upon yourself, and you open the door to allow your opened heart to allow virtue to flow outward from you.
From your other hand, gratitude allows you a simple form through which you can express your love and appreciation for your existence here and for your interactions with other beings and with your Creator. That simple expression of gratitude begins the flow. Life force flowing out from you as pure virtue makes it much easier to honestly express what’s in your heart, what your intentions are, what your needs might be.
The greatest application of honesty is your relationship with our divine Creator, your willingness to open your heart and to recognize what your abilities are and aren’t, and to openly share that and to ask for the strength and the virtue of life force to create a deep loving bond between you and your Creator. Then applying honesty to your actions shows the Creator your willingness to apply all that you have just stated, whether it’s easy or whether it might be more challenging. Each time you express virtue as an integrated flow of life force, you are manifesting heaven on earth.
• by Dawn King • Last week we celebrated World Oceans Day (June 8). As vast and important as our oceans are, couldn’t we devote a month…or all year, to recognizing their amazing function in our very existence? And the incredible coincidence of how the Sun, Moon and oceans and weather work in conjunction to make Earth habitable. This doesn’t even take into account all the food we derive from the ocean. The more one learns about Nature, the more we are in awe, and the more we find that a “coincidence” seems unlikely.
Sunburst Founder, Norman Paulsen has explained that humanity is standing on the threshold of a quantum leap into a dimension of consciousness we’ve only dreamed of, a state of awareness in which we experience God existing in all beings, and all of Nature. How much more we will enjoy life when we open ourselves to this awareness!
Norm also tells us repeatedly that we are here to be co-creators with the Divine, as well as caretakers of this rare garden planet, and caretakers of each other. “Your sincere efforts will help heal humanity and our Mother Earth, and inspire others onward toward virtue. Your work will become a portrait of God within you.”
I’m sure the Divine wants us to realize how precious all of Earth’s resources are. So here’s a few facts about the oceans and water that may be new to you:
The total amount of water present on Earth is fixed and does not change. Powered by the sun, water continually circulates between the oceans, the atmosphere and land. This circulation and conservation of Earth’s water, known as the water cycle, is a crucial component of our weather and climate.
Earth’s water is always in movement. Water changes states between liquid, vapor and ice. These processes happen in the blink of an eye or over millions of years. Today, about 71% of Earth’s surface is covered by water. But a few billion years ago, there may have been little to no surface land visible at all.
Oceans fact source: https://earthsky.org/earth/ancient-earth-water-world-global-ocean-harvard/
• by Norman Paulsen, Sunburst Founder • The lives of the saints and prophets are expressions of divine Spirit, to show us the way to live if we want to meet and know God—if we truly want to be in an eternal existence with the Divine. Every man and woman alive who has felt true love, true peace, and seen true beauty, wants to live in that energy forever. We all want to see the sun rise tomorrow and feel its warmth, see the blue sky, feel the wind in our face, smell the fragrance of the flowers, and hold and touch those dear faces and friends. Yes, we all want continuous life.
If we want continuous, or eternal life, we must seek it where we were told we could find it. We have to make an effort to meet God. But how can we accomplish this? How can we become more like our divine Father and Mother, to draw that Presence into our lives?
I find that God’s power responds almost immediately when it is for the benefit of others that we pray. We then see miracles and the presence of the divine power working. For the most part, when people pray and ask for things for their own self gain, God doesn’t acknowledge this, and people wonder why. It’s because we aren’t fulfilling divine law. God is constantly giving and serving every particle of creation in every moment. When we can align ourselves with this energy, the floodgates are released, and the divine power can flow through us.
When we are more concerned with helping those around us than we are with helping ourselves, then we can see God’s power working. God watches the humble servants who have become more concerned for the welfare of their brothers and sisters than for themselves. Then God says, “I have to help her (or him), because nobody else is going to. He (or she) is too busy helping everyone else.”
I’ve seen it over and over again, that God takes care of the humble servant, miraculously. Those who set their own desires aside, and entertain the one desire to serve God, have all things added unto them. God loves them so much, and loves divine communion with their souls. God’s living presence becomes so strong within them that every desire of their hearts is miraculously fulfilled.
When you are one with God, you say, “Lord, I gave that desire up; it really doesn’t matter anymore.”
And God says, “That’s alright, just take it anyway.”
But then you can give it all away if you want to. These are the things that we see, that God does for us. Humble servants for God have seen miraculous power at work to build things for the betterment of all human beings.
• by Dawn King – photos by April Juels & Dawn King • After many months of Covid restrictions, Sunburst hosted a well-attended Kriya I Retreat (May 12 through 15).
Sunburst’s Kriya II retreat is planned for October. Call the Sunburst office if you’re interested, or want to reserve your place in the next Kriya I retreat, January 2023.
Spring has blessed the Sanctuary with normal rains. Flowers gardens are blooming and Sunburst members are revitalizing the produce garden.
Deer can be seen caring for their fawns. Bluebirds are in abundance, and the hay field is growing daily. Each Sunday, 10:30 a.m. group meditation is followed by refreshments and fellowship, offering wonderful opportunities for enjoying the beauty of Sunburst Sanctuary and those who attend.
